Tent



Aug. 26, 1930. B. J. NICKLES TENT Filed Dec. 7', 1928 IATTORNEY PatentedAug. 26, 1930 iJNiTEDL srarss BERNARD J. NICKLESV, OF FRANKLIN COUNTY,KENTUCKY TENT', y

Application led December 7, 192`8 Serial No. 324,486.

This invention relates to improvements in tents, covers, shelters andthelike, and itr consists of the constructions,vr combinations .andl

arrangements herein described and claimed.

An object of the inventionkis to provide a tent which comprises acollapsible framework having a suitable covering material attachedthereto, Athe idea being to enable the opening and closing of the tentmuch'on the'order of an ordinary umbrella so that the tent can be set upinstantly and taken down as quickly.

Another object of the invention is to provide a tent of a constructionwhich admirablylends itself to portability, to which end its use willappeal to campers, tourists, hospitals but especially to persons inthehome.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification,reference being had to the accompanying drawing, in which z Figure 1 isaperspectiveview of the tent asset up, i Figure 2 is acentrallongitudinal'section of the tent, the frameworkfbeing shown inside elevation,

Figure 3 is a perspective View of the framework alone, n

Figure 4 is a'deta'il view showing the tent folded up,

Figure 5 is a detail cross section showing the ridge construction, theparts being shown as though thev tent were closed.

` Figure 6 is a detail viewof a ridge structure,

' Figure 7 "s a detail cross section taken on the line 7 7 of Figure 6,o d v p Figure 8 is a'detail cross sectionv taken on the line S-S ofFigure 3. f

One of the outstanding purposes'of the tent is a shelter against flies,mosquitoes'and other flying pests as well as crawling kinsects andvermin of all sorts. It is idle to' attempt a "rt 'of the 'suggestion ofall of the various placeswhere I the tent may be employed, but aparticular when cainpingorv picnicking. y'It often o'cy.steel or llikethe ribsy of "any umbrella;y important `consideration is lightness, yeta placetin mindy is thefhome. l For example, a.

cursy that food in various stages of preparation or consumption will'bestood about'for vmoreor*lessy'protracted'periods to the defvli'ght offlies, bugs,'etc; By havingy the tent available it isonly necessarytoopenait up`v and stand it overtlie food in question when lthe lattervkwill be protected' from contamination.

These are brief statements 4of only Vtwo of the important` uses ofthetent. The term 60 tent kmay imply al shelter of considerable size'. VNoAlimitation on `the sizeof the `tent 'isiyi'ntended V It can'fbemadesmallenougli l `to serveyas a diminutive shelter, or it can be madelarge'enou l gli to shelter one or more per- I sons when `employed incamping. Thecovei` of the tentvcan'be made inl a variety of fffabrics'fMosquito netting twill -be usedfvvlie'n the tent` is intended 'tobefemployed as a mere shelter *againsty lflies, A etc.` Canvas orV someother impervious clothwill be used when the requirements ofthe,Atentare'more rgidas to durability.

' Reference isfmadeto the drawing.y The tent is generally denoted 1. Theniainipart comprises a'toggle frame for framework -v which is composedof sides 2 and 3. Tliefsides l, are alike in construction, beingcomposed of slender bars'l, pivoted in the middle as at 5, and atcertain endsvas at 6.l The yframes 80 are 'capable'of being opened andclosed with the characteristic' lazy-tongs motion. v

Althoughthe members 4- are shownas bars they may, in practice, be madeofy tubular certain amountfof strength is also necessary.k

Obviously thefsizefand Vweight fof .thev bars -zwill-.increase wviththeI undue weightwill be prevented by'a careful 90 size of the tent, but

selection of materials in manufacture. -When 0penl the ,toggleffraine orframework will v 'providey aQ-liglit andpyet sturdy support for@Cove/M451 1 o Y f VVhenclosedlas in Figure l the tent willl beconfine'dto avery small compass.` In practice. a suitablebag will be provided to'coinv 'tain the tent.' 'The lbag is not included intheillustration",but it isfreadily understood that Y thisf'will bef'ofsuch-a characteras to receive Y10@ ,Annes and contain the closed tent.This provision facilitates the transportation of the tent, and alsoaffords considerable protection.

A ridge cord 8 keeps the top of the cover from sagging down between themembers of the framework mainly along the ridge. The terni ridge cord isto be given a rather general interpretation. The cord 8 does not onlyrun along the ridge of the tent but parts of its also extend betweencertain corners as indicated at 15 in Figure 1, and also between theridge and bottom of the tent as indicated at 16 in the same figure.Again, parts of the ridge cord will extend along the bottom of the tentat places where the pivots 6 occur, and along the medial portions of thesides at the places where the pivots 5 occur. The frame work ofreinforcing cords is connected together in any desired manner, forexample, by tying or splicing the various components to each other.

In other words, the ridge cord is herein known as a cord that extendsover certain places in order to give the cover 7 an adequate support atthese places and prevent the sag` ging of the cover as already mentionedin one instance. The corner components 15 of the ridge cord will sharplyoutline the corners of the tent and support the cover against sagging atthese points. This cord is trained through rings 9 which occur at theupper medial portions of the frame, and rings 10 which occur at theupper extreme portions of the frame, in other words at the ends of theridge. It is from the latter rings 10 that the cord drops as at 16. Theends of these particular cords are joined with pivots 11 of stretcherbars 12 which hold the bottom of the frame work in the spread orextended position.

For this purpose the stretcher bars are pivotally connected with thelower extremities of the sides 2 and 3 by means of rivets 17 (Fig. 8).Similar rivets connect the central ends ofthe stretcher bars at thepivotal points 11 already mentioned. Aga-in, similar rivets constitutethe middle pivots 5 as well as the pivotal points at certain ends 6.Each of these rivets include an eye 18. These eyes are like snap rings.They have pivoted jaws 19 which can be swung open to receive theadjacent parts of the cord 8.

The top or ridge rings 9 and l0 include a hinge construction. Each ringhas jaws 20 which receive hinge members 21. These members are pivotallyattached to the various bars fl, the purpose of the entire hingeconstruction being to not only permit the longitudinal opening andclosing of the framework but the lateral opening and closing as well.This opening and closing will not interfere with the cover 7. The latteris intended to be permanently attached to the framework although thevarious rings are made in such a manner that the cover can be detachedif desired.

This provision for detachment makes it possible to apply covers ofvarious weights and colors. Mosquito netting can be substituted forcanvas and vice versa. The character of the rivets '17 has beendescribed already. The rings 9 and l0 will be made in the saine way.Each ring will have a pivoted jaw 22 as in Figure 5. Upon swinging .thevarious jai open the ridge cord can be inserted. T his presupposes aparticular construction in the attachment of the ridge cord to thecover.

In Figure 7 and cover 7 is shown folded around vthe ridge cord 8 andsewed together or otherwise secured at 23. This makes a permanentattachment of the cord to the cover. But the sewing will stop short ofcertain places as in Figure (i. This leaves a portion of the ridge cordexposed as at` 24, and a loose place 25 in the cover affording room forthe insertion and attachment ofthe particular ring. This principle willbe carried out wherever a ring occurs in the tent.

Vhen the tent is merely employed as a shelter from insects and the likethe cover 7 will consist of a netting, which as in Figure 1, extends 6to l2 inches on all sides as at 26 in order that any qualities in thebedding (if the tent is employed as a shelter in connection with a bed)may be compensated for. The extensions 2G can be folded under to excludecrawling insects.

The operation is readily understood. In setting up the tent thestretcher bars 12 will be extended full length from the folded orcollapsed position in Figure 4, and in doing so, the sides 2 and 3 ofthe frame work will assume the pitch shown in Figures l and 3. The barsl2 limit the extension of the base of the framework. The middle pivots11 of the stretcher bars may be made like a rule oint.

The frame is then pulled longitudinally in order to open or separate thebars 4; of the sides 2 and 3. In these actions the longitudinalcomponents of the ridge cord 8 will be drawn taut. There will be aslight slackening of thecorner components l5, but this will not be ofany noticeable extent. The corner components 15 must be of suiiicientlength to pern'iit the closure of the frame, and when the frame is openthe distance between the corner rings 10 and 19 will be diminishedslightly, but this diminution will be so little that the slackeningetiect en the components 15 will not permit the cover to sag to anynoticeable extent.

Usually the camper, when the tent is employed fer crimping purposes willuse a ground cover of some sort as indicated at 27. This may comprise ablanket. It is optional how far the blanket shall extend or whether ornot the camper shall fold the extensions 26 under. It has been madeplain that the ridge cord comprises a number of parts which occur invarious places on the framework. Its purpose is to support the cover,and it is attached to the framework so that 'the cover will open andclose with the framework very much on the order of the ordinaryumbrella.-

When the tent is actually used as a tent, the triangular ends will notbe of uninterrupted fabric. One or both of these ends vwill have anopening of a suitable size so that the camp.- er may have passage in andout. These ends will also` be provided with suitable d\rop iaps, andthese in turn must have means for securing them so ythat the camper willhavea measure of security Within the tent.

The tent is not readily collapsed by a push from either side or eitherend, regardless of whether it is made in a small or large size. Thearticulated sides have Vconsiderable strength, thepivoted bars acting assupport-Q ing braces in respect to eachother. Upon desiring to collapsethe tent it is the work of but a moment to push the framework in Vfromeachv end so to close the bars 4 as in Figure Ll, then break thestretcher bars 12 at the pivots 11 so that they will fold up and theframe sides can be broughty together. kThe cover 7 remains in place onthe framework, and will close therewith. The wholestrucyture can then beinserted in the bag mentioned before. Y

While the construction and of the improved tent is that of a generallypreferred form,-obviously modifications and changes may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the claims. v

I claim 1. A tent of the character rdescribed cornprising a cover, aframe consisting of a pair of sides each comprising articulated bars,and means bywhich the bars yare pivotally connected along the ridge linetok enable standf ing the frame in an inverted V-form.

2. A tent of the character described comprising a cover, a toggle framecomposedy of a n f pair of sides having means connecting them with thecover `to define ak ridge when the` s frame is open, and meansVconnected withthe mation when arrangement v ingof a pair of sideshaving bars which are pivoted together forlongitudinal extension orkretraction, pivots by which the sides are pivoted together to definesides p p connected longitudinally for lateral opening Y,

and closing, stretcher bars pivoted together and to certain bars of thesides to limitl the extension of the bottom, a cover included in thetent having cords at predetermined places, and means incorporated in thevarious pivots for receivingthe cords not only securing the cover to theframework but supporting the ridge and corners of the tent from sagging.

7 A tent' comprising a cover, a pair of lazy tong frames, and means byWhich the frames are pivoted together along one side thereof to define aridge to support the cover intent forthe .frames areV open.

BERNARD J. NICKLES sides to hold the base of theframe extended.

3. A tent of the character described com-y prising a cover, a toggleframe for carrying the cover comprising sidesrconsisting of bars lpivoted together at the top 'and bottom, means pivoting the sides toeach other to forman apex when the sides are separated, and pivotedstretcher bars which are pivoted to certain ones of the frame-sidebars.k

4. A tent comprising a cover, a toggle frame for carrying the covercomprising sides consistingv of bars pivoted together at the top andbottom,pivot means connectingthe sides to each other to Vform an apexwhen the sides are separated, pivoted stretcher bars which are pivotedto certain ones of the frame-side izo

